'Defeat bills on floor of House': Pralhad Joshi's challenge to Opposition

Joshi's riposte came after the Opposition objected to the government taking up legislative business at a time when the no-confidence motion was pending before the LS.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday dared the Opposition to defeat the government bills on the floor of the House if they believe they had the numbers in the Lok Sabha.

Joshi's sharp riposte came after the Opposition objected to the government taking up legislative business at a time when the no-confidence motion was pending before the Lok Sabha.

"They have suddenly brought the no-confidence motion, does that mean no government business should take place," the minister told reporters outside Parliament.

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"If they have the numbers, they should defeat the bills on the floor of the House," the minister said.

Joshi had posed the same challenge to the Opposition inside the House earlier in the day.

Opposition MPs are also planning to travel to Manipur over the weekend to express their solidarity with the people of the strife-torn state.

"Let them go. What ground zero report? We are ready to place everything on the floor of the House if they allow discussion. If they want to discuss, if they want the truth to come out, then there is no better place than the floor of the House," Joshi said.

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The Opposition said the government pushing legislative business dealing with policy matters at a time when the Lok Sabha was in the process of taking up a no-confidence motion against the Union government, was a "travesty" and against "probity and propriety."

RSP member N K Premachandran, quoting from M N Kaul and S L Shakdher's Practice and Procedure of Parliament, said: "When leave of the House to the moving of a motion has been granted, no substantive motion on policy matters needs to be brought before the House by the government till the Motion of no Confidence has been disposed of."

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had on Wednesday accepted the no-confidence motion submitted by Congress member Gaurav Gogoi and said that he would decide on a date to take it up for discussion after consulting leaders of all political parties in the House.

Both Houses of Parliament have witnessed repeated disruptions over the issue of ethnic violence in Manipur since the Monsoon Session began on July 20.